Chemoattractant cytokines or chemokines are a family of proinflammatory mediators that promote recruitment and activation of multiple lineages of leukocytes, such as T lymphocytes. Chemokines can be released by many kinds of tissue cells after activation. Release of chemokines at sites of inflammation mediates the ongoing migration of effector cells during chronic inflammation. The chemokines are related in primary structure and contain four conserved cysteines, which form disulfide bonds. The chemokine family includes the C-X-C chemokines (α-chemokines), and the C-C chemokines (β-chemokines), in which the first two conserved cysteines are separated by an intervening residue, or are adjacent, respectively (Baggiolini, M. and Dahinden, C. A., Immunology Today, 15:127-133 (1994)).
The chemokine receptors are members of a superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) which share structural features that reflect a common mechanism of action of signal transduction (Gerard, C. and Gerard, N. P., Annu Rev. Immunol., 12:775-808 (1994); Gerard, C. and Gerard, N. P., Curr. Opin. Immunol., 6:140-145 (1994)). Conserved features include seven hydrophobic domains spanning the plasma membrane, which are connected by hydrophilic extracellular and intracellular loops. The majority of the primary sequence homology occurs in the hydrophobic transmembrane regions with the hydrophilic regions being more diverse. The first receptor for the C-C chemokines that was cloned and expressed binds the chemokines MIP-1α and RANTES. Accordingly, this MIP-1α/RANTES receptor was designated C-C chemokine receptor 1 (also referred to as CCR-1 or CKR-1; Neote, K., et al., Cell, 72:415-425 (1993); Horuk, R. et al., WO 94/11504, May 26, 1994; Gao, J.-I. et al., J. Exp. Med., 177:1421-1427 (1993)). CCR1 also binds the chemokines CCL2 (MCP-1) CCL4 (MIP-1β), CCL7 (MCP-3), CCL8 (MCP-2), CCL13 (MCP-4), CCL14 (HCC-1), CCL15 (Lkn-1), CCL23 (MPIF-1). (Murphy P. M. et al., International Union of Pharmacology. XXII. Nomenclature for Chemokine Receptors, Pharmacol. Reviews, 52:145-176 (2000).) The ability of chemokines, such as RANTES and MIP-1α, to induce the directed migration of monocytes and a memory population of circulating T-cells indicate that chemokines and chemokine receptors may play a critical role in chronic inflammatory diseases, since these diseases are characterized by destructive infiltrates of T cells and monocytes. (See, e.g., Schall, T. et al., Nature, 347:669-71 (1990).)
Small molecule antagonists of the interaction between C-C chemokine receptors (e.g., CCR1) and their ligands, including RANTES and MIP-1α, would provide compounds useful for inhibiting pathogenic processes “triggered” by receptor ligand interaction.